Absolute Revenge
by Spades
Summary: How do you stop an act of absolute revenge when none knows it's coming? A traveler from the future knows when it's going to happen and only trusts the crew of the Enterprise to prevent the disaster that will destroy the Federation and all they believe in.
1. Chapter 1

Jim Kirk bolted up in bed before his mind really caught up with the action. The communication console next to his bed was beeping annoyingly as he rubbed a hand over his face. A glance at the holo time display showed it was halfway through third shift. Ugh, an ungodly hour for him to be woken.

"Yeah, Kirk here," he answered while sitting up to swing his feet over the edge of the bed and leaning forward to prop his elbows on his knees.

"Captain, you are needed on the bridge."

Grabbing a Starfleet issue hoodie that was on the floor next to the bed and slipping on his slippers he left his quarters. Experience told him that the bridge only called him if it was very important; especially during the third shift. The officer's quarter's hallway was quiet and the lights overhead were dimmed to conserve energy. As he walked down the hallway sensors at shin level detected his movement and brightened the lights as he walked. Once activating the next sensor the previous one dimmed the lights back to nighttime levels. It conserved energy and helped the crew differentiate between day and night.

Stepping onto the turbo lift and selecting bridge, he pulled the hoodie on and tugged it into place just as the doors opened.

"What have we got?" he asked and glanced around at the skeleton crew as he walked to his chair and sat on the edge.

"Our sensors are picking up a strange disturbance. The computers can't accurately determine what it is," a young ensign said as he manipulated the panel in front of him.

"Where is it?"

"Directly ahead."

"All stop and put it on the screen," he ordered and stood from the chair to take a few steps forward.

He crossed his arms across his chest and stared at the screen in front of him. Even dressed in his pajama clothes he still cut an iconic image that Starfleet did their best to promote as the new face of Starfleet. Enlistment had jumped significantly after the whole Nero and Narada event and the _Enterprise_ crew had become celebrities.

The screen showed blackness with an occasional star in the distance. The computer was overlying the image of where the disturbance was located and measuring the size and denseness of the disturbance.

"I want a thermal and plasma scan. Someone get Spock up here. He's going to do his time as Chief Science Officer."

Kirk felt a faint tremor run up his legs and through his body. His breathing paused as he focused on the sensations running up his legs. Everyone else must have felt it because an uneasy silence fell over the bridge as they looked around warily at each other.

"Put us in reverse using thrusters only. Any readings yet on what it is?" Kirk asked as a shape started to take form on the screen.

"Readings are off the charts in negative ions and neutral bariums. Everything is telling me it might be an allurium energy pulse. The computer is signaling a ninety-six percent assurance that it is an allurium energy pulse."

"Alert all departments. I don't want any systems to short circuit and lose valuable data." Kirk saw Spock step onto the bridge in solid black of off duty clothing. "Alert the science department and engineering specifically. Tell them to shut things down if they have to that may be on. We only have about forty-five seconds until that pulse fully forms and hits us. I want to be able to shut off all power to the ship before the pulse hits us and save what we can."

Spock nodded and went to the nearest panel. Another tremor danced through the Enterprise but stronger this time. Kirk lowered himself into his chair and brought up his own display to cut power to the entire ship.

"Issue a ship wide collision alert. Some people are going to be shaken out of bed tonight," Kirk ordered as his gaze danced between the main screen and his personal screen at his chair.

"Would shields help?"

Kirk glanced at the young ensign seated at the helm. His eyes held a spark of excitement but also a bit of fear. He was new to the ship; obviously had not been subjected to Kirk's off-ship debacles.

"Enacting shields is not recommended. An allurium energy pulse has been known to badly damage active equipment. It is preferred to allow the pulse to pass us and sustain minimal damage than possibly be entirely without shields," Spock answered and Kirk looked from Spock back to the helmsman.

"What he said."

"Pulse will reach us in fifteen seconds."

The collision alarm was sounding loudly as the bridge crew watched the phenomenon on the screen. They could see material now churning within the ribbon shape. Wide assortments of colors were being refracted from materials. The churning became more violent with each passing second.

"Be prepared to cut all dilithium power on my mark," Kirk said calmly as his fingers tapped out the seconds.

The ensign started counting down at ten and everyone found something to hold onto.

"Three.

"Two."

"Now!" Kirk barked and the Enterprise went completely dark and silent.

The tremors that had started out as gentle now became violent. A shock wave tore through the massive ship, knocking out panels and breaking a few pipes. They could hear a few metallic groans coming from the ship's structure. But a few minutes later the groans ceased and all was quiet again.

"Begin powering up sequence."

The lights flickered on and then the ship hummed back to life. The computer immediately started cataloguing damages and mechanical failures. The third shift crew members started dealing with computer issues as Spock looked over reports.

"Captain, initial scans report no debilitating damage. Minor damage throughout the ship as well as minor injuries from the vibrations. The allurium energy pulse has passed us by," Spock said and Kirk sighed softly.

Kirk had only read about pulse clouds. The texts never offered what the best course would be whenever you came across one. Hopefully his course was not too damaging. The reports so far were suggesting that they had escaped the brunt of the possible damaging. Leaning against his arm rest he hit and held the button for a ship wide announcement.

"This is Captain Kirk. I apologize for jolting you out of bed. An allurium energy pulse just passed us by. I want alpha shift crew members to run diagnostics on their department systems at beginning of shift. Kirk out."

He released the button and glanced at Spock. "Hope I didn't wake you."

"Negative Captain. My rest cycle had come to an end and I was simply catching up on some science texts when the ensign paged me."

The communication panel on his chair beeped and he tapped the screen. "Kirk here."

"Uh Captain, I think ya better come on down ta sick bay."

"Is everything all right Mr. Scott?"

"I'll let ya decide on that."

_Earlier_

"Yaxley, be sure ta shut down tha transporter system!" Scotty yelled as he shut down the hydrolic system.

Once finding out what they were faced with Scotty immediately started shutting down primary and secondary functions. He knew what an allurium energy pulse could do to a starship's active system. His classmates and he had discussed ideas of how to handle them while they were in classes. Of course the whole incident with Archer's beagle had changed that.

"Transporter mainframe not responding!"

"I'm goin to tha transporter room! I'll shut it down from there!" he yelled and sprinted down the metal gangplank.

Sliding down metal staircases, he exploded into the white hallways and ran towards the transporter room. Skidding around a corner, he slowed as the door hissed open. Immediately tapping the touch panel, he started shutting down the interface.

"Come on, come one. Almost there," he muttered and urged his fingers to move faster.

Before he could complete the sequence, an explosion of sparks from the unit showered him. Crouching against the wall and covering his head he heard the transporter kick on and cycle through before the room went dark and silent. It was silent for several seconds as Scotty became aware that someone else was in the room with him. The lights started coming on and he slowly uncovered his head.

"What did you short circuit now, Perkins?"

Scotty looked up in shock at the voice. Slowly standing up, he looked over the top of the control panel. Standing on one of the transporter hubs was a young looking woman. She wore black slacks and a Starfleet regulation black top with silver shoulders. The uniform was a modified version of what Starfleet personnel wore around the ship. Her brunette hair was a tight cut, almost mannish looking. Her posture implied she was accustomed to getting respect upon the ship but there was also a softening around the edges that only women could impart.

Coming out from behind the control panel, he stared at her for a moment before she noticed him. She looked at him surprised then confused.

"Scotty, I'm surprised to see you. I thought Cotton was sending me back to the Hawkeye. You've lost some weight. I told you it was all those sandwiches," she said and stepped off the transporter pad.

"I'm sorry…I'm a little lost. Who are you?" he asked slowly.

Now closer he could see that the hair was pulled into a tight French braid. He guessed her age to be around mid thirties.

"Real funny Scotty. We saw each other last night remember. I didn't think you had that much ale. Apparently I was wrong." When that didn't trigger any recognition she stared at him blankly before speaking again. "I'm Captain Sabrina Hemen of the USS Hawkeye. Remember now?"

"I've never heard of the USS Hawkeye and I know of all the ships in Starfleet," Scotty replied as the communication speaker beeped.

"This is Captain Kirk. I apologize for jolting you out of bed. An allurium energy pulse just passed us by. I want alpha shift crew members to run diagnostics on their department systems at beginning of shift. Kirk out."

The color drained from the woman's face and her eyes widened as she looked from the speaker to Scotty.

"What ship am I on? What's the star date?"

"This is the USS Enterprise. Star date is 2260.43," he answered as her left hand came up to gently touch her bottom lip.

Scotty watched as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she started to collapse. If Scotty was a little quicker or actually less confused he might have tried to catch her. Instead he watched as she hit the floor unconscious.

"Oh bloody hell," he muttered and bent to pick up the woman.

Carrying her, Scotty hurried towards the medical bay. The hallways were still virtually empty and he made it there in record time. The set of double doors slid open and the medicinal smell washed over him. The main medical room had an access terminal in the center and against the immediate walls were medical beds. Past the access terminal were three clear doors that lead to quarantine, supplies or surgery. Most of the beds were vacant except for one where M'Benga stood examining a crew member with a bloody head. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded at Scotty.

"Pick a bed Mr. Scott. I'll be right with you."

"It's not me Doc. It's this woman," he said and laid her on a bio-bed.

M'Benga called over a nurse and had her finish with the crew member. Snapping off his gloves as he walked towards the other bio-bed, M'Benga looked her over but didn't see any obvious wounds.

"I don't see any wounds or injuries. What happened?"

"I was trying ta shut down tha transporter interface before tha pulse hit us. As I was about ta finish tha sequence somethin short circuited. Tha transporter engaged and this woman appeared. She said her name is Sabrina Hemen and she's tha captain of tha USS Hawkeye."

M'Benga nodded as he started a bio-bed scan. As the bone structure image appeared his eyes narrowed before stepping closer to the screen. Tapping the screen, he zoomed in on the right forearm.

"Katen, page McCoy," M'Benga called as he cued other scans and tests.

"What is it, Doc?" Scotty asked as the doctor rubbed his cheek.

"This woman's right forearm looks like it had been shattered; past the point where the bone regenerator could work. But this forearm has been rebuilt from a material I don't recognize."

Scotty nodded slowly and remembered the woman's expression after hearing the star date and what ship she was on. Reaching out he tapped the communication panel.

"Scotty to bridge."

"Kirk here."

"Uh Captain, I think ya better come on down ta sick bay."

"Is everything all right Mr. Scott?"

"I'll let ya decide on that."


	2. Chapter 2

Many thanks go to my beta reader Peachly and thank you to everyone who reviewed or put the story/author on their alerts. Hope you enjoy the new chapter. And on we go.

Waiting for the doctor and captain to arrive, Scotty used a computer and searched for the woman and the ship. What he found only made him more confused. M'Benga was muttering to himself as he read over the report of her blood work. He looked as confused as Scotty was feeling.

Both he and the doctor looked up when the doors hissed open. McCoy and Kirk walked in and went straight to M'Benga and Scotty. Both men were dressed in off duty cloths. McCoy wore a red robe over his sleeping cloths and the robe looked like it had seen better days. The doctor looked the same but both M'Benga and Scotty were smart enough to not comment.

"Yes, Mr. Scott?" Kirk asked and only glanced towards the woman on the bio-bed.

"A moment, Captain. McCoy what do you make of this?" M'Benga asked and handed McCoy a data pad with the blood work results.

McCoy skimmed through the numbers and glanced up at M'Benga. "This can't be right."

"It is; and look at her right forearm bone scan. We don't have technology like this," M'Benga said and stepped aside for McCoy to look closer.

McCoy looked over the scanned image and gently tapped the screen. "I've read medical journals on technology like this but it is still years off. Starfleet Medical has nothing like this in production."

"Her medical technology is na tha strangest thing," Scotty interrupted as he reached past the two men and tapped the screen to bring up what he had been working on.

"I did a search for her name and tha ship she said she hailed from. Sabrina Hemen did her active service on tha USS Warrior before transferring to tha London branch of Starfleet Academy. She is currently a professor of Advanced Battle Tactics and has been for tha past four years. All her records are exemplary. But she has not been put back inta active service.

"The USS Hawkeye is about halfway through its building stage. She's still in dry dock, Captain and hasn't been launched," Scotty said as he brought up the images.

The personnel file photo matched the woman on the bed with a few differences. The woman on the bed looked worn around the edges; tired to the core. While they scanned through the images a soft groan came from the bio-bed and all four heads whipped around to look. The woman's left hand came up and covered her eyes.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" M'Benga asked and everything about her tensed.

Her fingers separated and she glanced at the faces in her field of vision. Lowering her hand, she slowly sat up and swung her legs to the side.

"Physically, I'm fine. A little confused though," she answered and gently rubbed her left temple before lowering her hand to the bio-bed.

"Confused about what?" M'Benga asked and glanced at the other officers before looking back to the woman.

"Computer, what is the current star date?" she asked and stared at the floor.

"Star date is 2260.43."

"What ship is this?"

"Starship USS Enterprise NCC-1701."

"Oh hell," she muttered and rested her head in her hands.

She raised her head and locked eyes with Kirk. "Please tell me this is a nasty prank, Jim. Please tell me that McCoy and you are pulling some cruel joke because it's not funny."

Kirk jerked when she called him by his first name. McCoy glanced at him and the younger man shrugged his shoulders in confusion.

"I'm sorry but I don't know you. Perhaps you want to tell us who you are," Kirk replied as he crossed his arms across his chest.

Her gaze jumped from the three men that surrounded her and saw the confusion on all their faces. "Obviously this is not a joke. My name is Sabrina Hemen, Captain of the USS Hawkeye. And your wife."

Kirk stared blankly at her as McCoy started coughing in surprise. Scotty and M'Benga glanced cautiously between the Captain and the woman as they both took a few steps back to avoid the fireworks.

"You're my what?" Kirk questioned in disbelief as he gaped.

"Your wife," she replied calmly with a hint of exhaustion in her voice.

"You must be mistaken. I would remember if I got married."

"It hasn't happened yet. I'm from the year 2268," she answered with a sigh as she slipped off the bio-bed.

"Are you saying you're from the future?" McCoy asked incredulously.

"It is a possibility with her right forearm and blood work," M'Benga said as Kirk rubbed his forehead.

"What does the blood work say?"

"She has some vaccines in her that have not been created yet. I can identify them as originating from Starfleet Medical but no clue what they're for. The material her right forearm is rebuilt from is unidentifiable."

"The material is a compound of c12 allurium and prectoclast. My forearm was crushed by a storage bin during the war," she replied as she flexed her hand.

"What war?" McCoy asked as she straightened her top before lacing her fingers together behind her back.

Hemen stared at the chief medical officer for a hesitant moment before looking at the other three.

"Maybe this can wait until a more reasonable hour? Your clothing suggests it's a late hour," she answered while motioning towards Kirk and McCoy.

"I think that's a good plan for now. We can discuss this with clearer heads in the morning and large amounts of coffee. Scotty show…Captain Hemen to guest quarters," Kirk said and motioned towards the doors.

Scotty nodded and led the female captain out of sickbay. Kirk locked eyes with McCoy and motioned towards the doors. The two men left M'Benga to his work and walked down the dimly lit hall.

"Do you believe her?" Kirk asked as he thrust his hands into the hoodies' pockets.

"That she's from the future? Yes. That you actually get married? No."

McCoy meant for it to be a joke but the look on Kirk's face wasn't amusement. McCoy sighed and thought for a moment before speaking. His friend obviously wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"After the whole Nero and Narada incident it is more probable," McCoy said as they slowed to a stop.

McCoy leaned against the wall and crossed his arms across his chest. Kirk slowly paced the hall in front of McCoy. The doctor could see a series of emotions flit across Jim's face but they were gone just as quickly as they appeared. He rubbed his forehead in agitation before dropping the arm to his side. Tilting his head back, he stared at the ceiling and sighed.

"What's bothering you, Jim? Talk to me."

"I just met my future wife in sick bay after she somehow teleported onto my ship from eight years in the future. She also mentions a war in the future that seems like it's more than a little skirmish. Everything about his whole night is bothering me," he replied, his voice thick with frustration.

"You can get your answers tomorrow or later today. However you look at the awful hour," McCoy replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

"What if there is a war coming? Should we try to stop it or let it happen?"

"Are you willing to chance it that the new future would be better?"

Kirk slowed his pacing and stopped before looking at McCoy. The two men stared at each other before Kirk dryly smirked.

"You're always the one to smack me back into line."

"Yeah well, I'm going back to bed. See you around a more decent hour."

McCoy slapped Kirk's shoulder and walked down the hall. Kirk watched after him before starting down the hallway. He walked slowly to his own quarters and entered. The room was still dimly lit from when he ran out earlier. He pulled off his hoodie and tossed it onto the couch. Turning off the lights he walked towards the empty bed.

Why did he now see it as an empty bed? Up to a few hours earlier he was fine with it being an empty bed. As a captain he had to leave behind the womanizing. He had never even entertained the notion of marriage. But now this Captain Sabrina Hemen appears and says they're married in the future. And now it got him thinking about it.

Sitting on the edge of the bed he rubbed his face and sighed. Toeing off his slippers, he crawled into bed and pulled the covers over himself. It was time to sleep. The problems would still be there in the morning.

"Spock, walk with me. Sulu, you have the con. We'll be in Conference Room A if you need us," Kirk said as he stood from his chair.

"Aye Captain."

Kirk has woken up two hours earlier than his alarm and had spent the time mulling over the Hemen dilemma as he was now calling it. The concept and implications of her being his wife was put in the background; he would deal with that later. He was concerned about why she was here and what war she was talking about. After two hours he came to the conclusion that he would prevent the war if he could. Protect Starfleet and the Federation and those under it.

Spock and he stepped out the side door and traveled down the hallway. They passed the Captain's Office and the First Officer's Office before reaching the row of conference rooms.

"The woman we are-"

"Doctor McCoy has informed me about Captain Hemen. I am eager to converse with her," Spock said and Kirk slowly nodded, not surprised that McCoyu already warned Spock.

"Of course. Bones would have clued you in about my wife."

"Wife suggests present tense. She could appropriately be addressed as your future mate."

"Saying mate just makes it so much more realistic," Kirk objected as they slowed before reaching the door.

"However, we have nothing to confirm her statements as accurate. I am interested as to how Captain Hemen came to be on the Enterprise. The ship's computer first recorded her body signature during the allurium energy pulse. Something must have occurred during the pulse to allow her passage from the future. If she did actually come from the future."

Conference Room A's 'Occupied' light was illuminated as they stopped at the door. Kirk felt a twing of apprehension run down his spine but he suppressed any physical displays of anxiety. Couldn't let Spock catch wind of his concern and turn into an overprotective mother hen.

"Let's just find out then," Kirk replied as they activated the conference room door and entered.

McCoy stood by the long table with his arms crossed across his chest and watched the other individual in the room with him. Captain Hemen stood by the long wall looking out the large windows. Her uniform was immaculate and the brunette hair was in a tight French braid. Everything about her was rigid and tense, unbendable. Kirk couldn't say for certain if she actually slept. Her arms were crossed across her chest with one arm up towards her face. In the reflection they could see that the fingers were tapping on her bottom lip. She turned at their entrance and her hands went behind her back. Her eyes immediately found Kirk's but flickered away when she didn't find what she expected.

Kirk was curious to find out what kind of relationship they had. What might have possessed him to marry this woman? Part of him didn't want to know. What would have possessed him to actually marry at all?

"Commander Spock, always a pleasure," Hemen greeted and nodded at the half-Vulcan.

"Captain."

McCoy pushed out a chair with his foot and pointedly stared at Kirk. Without a glance at the doctor, Kirk sat and scooted closer to the table to clasp his hands together.

"I spent the remaining morning hours deciding how much I was going to tell you about my future. About the war coming. I will tell you everything you need to know to prevent it. Anything is better than the future I came from. However, I will tell you nothing about your personal futures. I will not consciously alter that."

"What if you being here already alters someone's future?" Kirk asked and the real question hung silently over their heads.

"If that's the case then I hope it's worth a better future. I'm willing to risk it to avoid the coming atrocities," she replied without looking at Kirk.

The meaning was clear to all three Enterprise officers. Captain Hemen was willing to risk her future marriage if it meant an overall better future. A future with no war. From the way she was acting it looked as if she was already trying to distance herself from Kirk. To not see him as her future husband.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone that reviewed and added me under their alerts. Many thanks goes to my beta reader Peachly. Hope everyone enjoys the new chapter and remember I always love to hear back from readers. On to the story.**

"Please continue," Spock said and Hemen glanced at him before looking to the wall in front of her, across the room.

She took a deep breath to organize her thoughts. She held their attention easily with the story she was about to tell.

"Everything can be traced back to the Narada and Nero. Sometime during the final battle Nero ordered that a portion of the red matter be withdrawn and taken to another location; away from the ensuing battle. A 'Plan B' if you will. The smaller ship was lost in all the confusion and no one knew of the remaining red matter. Creeol is his name, the one who took the matter; one of Nero's lackies. He and a few other Romulans flew to Romulus and told their story…with a few changes."

"What kind of changes?" McCoy asked and glanced at Spock and Kirk.

Captain Hemen blinked slowly but didn't shift her gaze from the wall. It seemed like she was replaying the history to herself. Seeing every action in her mind and describing what happened as a passive bystander.

"They told the Romulans that Commander Spock and Captain Kirk would be war criminals in the future. They would ravage and destroy peaceful worlds. Destroy Romulus and enslave their women and children. That the Federation would stand by and do nothing to save them."

McCoy could clearly see that both Spock and Kirk were angry. Kirk's fingers were steepled in front of him and hid the lower half of his face. Spock had grown tenser but looked far from physical violence. Kirk on the other hand had a more physically active personality. The same as what drove him to leap first and ask later.

"The Romulans banded together and made alliances with the Federation's enemies. All of this done in secret by back channels. The attack was synchronized. Federation Headquarters was attacked. Starfleet ships were ambushed in deep space and destroyed. The USS Enterprise suffered severe damage and barely escaped. The ship lost over half her crew that day.

"The remaining parts of Starfleet activated protocol one-six-five-nine-omega that shut down the Academy and called all employees and students to active duty. I took captaincy of the USS Hawkeye and immediately set course for the Dulange System once all my crew was on board and accounted for."

She had walked closer to the conference table while she spoke and rested her hands on the back of a chair. Her head dropped for a moment to look at the table top as she sighed and hesitatingly continued.

"The Dulange System was the contingency plan. It is the contingency plan. Every Starfleet built ship has an encrypted code embedded into the computer mainframe. If the ship loses contact with Starfleet for more than twenty-four hours the code will activate and alert all ship captains. In this case the upper levels of the Federation activated the encrypted code once they realized it was a coordinated attack. All Starfleet captains are to immediately disregard all prior directives and proceed with all speed to the Dulange System," Captain Hemen said and her stone face cracked a little while she stared at the table.

A slight tremor danced down her body before she settled herself and lifted her head to look at the officers. Spock could easily read the despair in her body language. Nothing implied to him that she was lying or being dishonest in anyway. Her fingers dug into the back of the chair and her forearms were tensed in their grip. Everything she had said so far was shocking and almost unbelievable. But Spock had read enough history and studied enough battle tactics to know how much damage a synchronized attack could cause. It threw the opponent off balance, created chaos, demoralized the opposition as a whole.

"The unofficial tally was 65% of the fleet was destroyed or captured. Another five to ten percent was damaged so badly they would be unfit for service for months.

"Creeol and the Romulans then petitioned the other planets. Join them and become soldiers and slaves or be destroyed. That was when he would use the red matter. When a planet refused to join him and fought back.

"Alliances were broken and remade. The lines were blurred. The remaining few loyal to the Federation were deemed outlaws by the new Romulan High Empire. We performed blitz attacks, hit and runs on enemy ships. Trying to get in close to Creeol and the Romulan High Council to assassinate them. A Starfleet officer and there I was formulating assassination attempts," she said dryly and chuckled softly.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped back from the chair and crossed her arms across her chest and shrugged her shoulders as she spoke.

"Only thing is, I can't be certain if it would have changed anything. We might already be too far past the point of change. That's why I'm telling you this now. To hopefully change the future for the better."

Captain Hemen glanced at the three males as she rubbed the back of her neck before turning away. She went to the windows and looked out over the dark space. Her narration was obviously over.

Kirk leaned forward to lean on the table and stared at Captain Hemen's back silently for a moment.

"The story you just told us is hard to believe…but possible. How can we be sure you're not lying to us though? None of this can be confirmed," Kirk said and glanced towards McCoy before looking back to her.

"We could search for Creeol," McCoy suggested as Kirk stood up to stretch his back.

"Yeah, Bones, we're friendly enough with Romulus that they'll let us search for a Romulan from the future that is trying to start an intergalactic war," Kirk replied as he rested his hands on his hips and stared out the window.

"I have a solution, Captain," Spock said and the young captain turned to look at him. "If Captain Hemen will allow it, a mind meld would allow me to see her memories and seek the truth. It would be the easiest and most expedient."

"Are you sure? Are you okay with doing a mind meld?"

"I am if Captain Hemen is."

Hemen turned from the window and looked to Spock. She was composed and stepped towards Spock.

"I am willing," she said quietly as Spock stood closely.

Gently pressing the fingertips of his right hand to her psi points, he bowed his head. His left hand gripped her right bicep to keep her near. Hemen's mental state was calm and accepting as a memory floated to him. She had done this before. Another Vulcan and himself in her future. He released the memory.

_Show me your time. Show me your war._

Her memory started in London. She was sprinting to the dry docks and passing shocked individuals. The news had reached the population of the attack. Fear was thick in her throat. Crew members were scattered. She was issuing orders and helping them stock the ship. Vid screens showed the devastation of the attack on the Federation. Spock saw bodies clearly in the memory.

The next memory was Hemen standing in the Captain's office with another officer. A recorded voice emanated from the computer as several screen appeared on the screen. _This message is of highest priority for all Starfleet Admirals, Captains and Commanders. Federation and Starfleet have been compromised. Emergency protocol epsilon-nine-zeta-five-eight has been enacted. Your ship has documents and specifications. At the end of this message all subether connections to Starfleet will be destroyed to prevent a back trace. Good luck._

He released the memory and accepted the next one. This memory was later; much later. A battle that they barely won but there were many injuries. Boarding the hubship there were injuries to tend to and bodies to deal with; machinery to fix and repair. Dropping something and looking up at the handsome man that helped her. Spock immediately recognized the older Captain Kirk. He was a little more worn around the edges and battle scarred but still had the same warm smile.

She violently repressed a memory as Jim's face swam into view. The memory was strong but she controlled it and buried it before Spock could see the exact details. Every memory that contained Jim in some capacity was silenced before it could form into a coherent image.

She offered another memory instead but her emotions were starting to interfere. The memory was jerky and disconnected but clear. Transporting onto an enemy ship. Releasing human, Vulcan and other slaves from cages. Helping Jim release another cage. Discovery. Shoving Jim out of the way. Crushing agony. Arm numb. Shadows. Medical bay. Waking up to see bright blue eyes. Arm rebuilt. Four days. Whispered words. Marry me.

Hemen withdrew the memory before she lost control of it and passed it back to her subconscious.

_Are you convinced?_

_ Yes._

Spock took a deep breath and opened his eyes. Removing his hands from Captain Hemen, he stepped back and linked his hands together at his lower back. Hemen opened her eyes a few moments later and stared at Spock. Her eyes held a slight hint of a challenge to question the memories he saw but her eyes also held pain. Pain at never returning to the only world she knew. Never seeing the Jim Kirk she had fallen in love with during a time of war.

"Captain Hemen's narrative is accurate. The events will occur as she detailed," he said as he glanced to Kirk and McCoy.

Kirk glanced at McCoy and looked back at his First Officer. The underlying thread of sorrow was evident to Kirk who was familiar with Spock's subtle displays of emotion. The memories he witnessed bothered him. Bothered a practically unshakeable half-Vulcan.

"Alright, so when does this all go down?" McCoy asked to break the silence.

"On 2260.129," Hemen replied as she walked back to the window.

"So we tell the people in charge what's going to happen and they prevent it."

"It's not that easy, Bones," Kirk sighed and slouched in his chair.

"When is it ever?" McCoy sighed as he stood and ran a hand through his hair.

"We have to find Creeol and the other future Romulans. The red matter must be either destroyed or recovered," Hemen said and leaned back against the window.

"And prevent Romulus from starting a war. We have to do it with a swift and solid attack so there is no hope of them regrouping," Kirk sighed again and stood.

"What is our strategy of attack, Captain?" Spock asked as Kirk pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Let me think on it. We'll have to find a way to locate Creeol and the others without sparking anything else off. I'll notify each of you when something comes about."

The look Kirk shot at Spock and Bones was the subtle 'scram' look. The two men departed quickly and left Captain Kirk and Captain Hemen in the conference room. Kirk turned and looked at the woman standing on the other side of the table. Her fingers were laced behind her lower back and her face was calm and impassive. He was starting to think she was more Spock-like than anything. And he actually marries this woman?"  
"How do they attack the Federation?"

"What do you mean?" she replied after a moment's hesitation.

"How do they do it? Poison? Bomb? Mass attack?" he asked as he started pacing the room.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean? You're from the future."

"I wasn't there. There were no survivors to give eye witness accounts. I only heard speculation," she answered and watched the young man.

This was not like the Jim Kirk she fell in love with. He admitted to her that he had mellowed since his youth. Too many nightmares still plagued him. This Jim was rough around the edges on his personal level. She didn't know exactly how to handle him.

"How do we know what to look for?" he asked and she saw the signs of anger.

"I am sorry I can't give you more to go on but that is all I know. The most I know happened after the initial attack."

"Why didn't you stay and find out more? Why did you run and hide?" he snapped out of frustration.

Hemen's nostrils flared as her ire reared up. Her Jim use to do this because he found it irresistible. He liked to see her feathers get ruffled. This Jim was doing it out of anger and frustration.

"I followed my orders. Survival of Starfleet crew members was what was needed at the time," she ground out as he body and mind stilled to wait for what he would reply with.

"Cowards hide behind their orders."

Kirk regretted saying it as soon as it passed his lips. His frustration got the better of him occasionally but usually he could control it. There was something about this woman that just wiggled under his skin.

He clearly saw that the statement was a shock to Hemen. Her jaw locked and her shoulders tightened as she stared at him. She dropped her gaze and slowly walked around the conference table until coming to a stop in front of Kirk.

"A wise man once said that we have a very difficult card to play. We often have to act by the moon or twilight and leave the world to judge it in the clear sunshine."

She looked up at him and locked gazes for him to see how serious she was. Her eyes were hard and unforgiving as she squared off with him.

"I will not defend my actions or explain my reasoning to you. If you want a learning experience then put yourself in my position and decide what you would have done. I had to learn which battles to run from so I could fight harder in the war. It's a lesson you'll learn soon enough."

Without rushing, she moved past him and exited the conference room. Her words were harsh but she knew it was the quickest way to move through the issues. And besides, it was a jab for a jab. They were even now.


	4. Chapter 4

Kirk wanted to verbally lash back at her but knew he had earned that parting jab. Watching the tight French braid vanish out the door, he ruefully shook his head in amazement. He could begin to see what he must like in the Captain Hemen in the future.

"Computer, contact bridge, communications console," he ordered as he moved to lean against the table and face the vid screen.

"Uhura here."

"Lieutenant, please contact Admiral Pike for me."

"Of course Captain. Shall I route it to Conference Room A?"

"Yes."

Kirk stared at the Starfleet logo on the screen and waited for the link to come up. The room was eerily quiet. He knew it was because the room was sound proofed but he wasn't use to it. The sound of crew members and the gentle hum of the Enterprise were constants to him. He could always hear one of them. Now he missed it.

The screen activated to show a seated Admiral Pike. He was confined to a wheelchair still but otherwise looked hale and hearty.

"Captain Kirk didn't expect to be hearing from you."

"Like to keep you on your toes, sir," Kirk replied with a tired smile.

"What can I do for you, son?" Pike asked, getting right down to business.

"As strange as this is going to sound: Do you have any Romulan contacts?"

Kirk wouldn't have believed it but Pike did the eyebrow thing. What was it with people raising their eyebrow at him? Did he only ask questions of eyebrow raising proportions? He didn't think so. He would have to look in on this later.

"What are you messing with Kirk?"

"Just following up on a lead that…dropped into my lap you could say. So how 'bout it? Got any Romulan friends?" Kirk asked as Pike rubbed his forehead.

"There is one contact I know but you didn't learn about him from me. His name is Anor and is based on Planet Gamma-six-one-scion just before the Romulan territory. He mans a small outpost by himself. He hears all sorts of details from Romulan space…if you're willing to pay for it," Pike explained as Kirk recorded the name and planet.

"What's his usual charge?"

"A case of Tipperlen vodka."

"That stuff is illegal by Federation standards. How am I supposed to get some?" Kirk replied as he stared at Pike.

"You'll find some if you want information badly enough. His information is accurate. Most of the time anyway."

Kirk raised both eyebrows as Pike shrugged. "Why is he there by himself? Is it that small of a base?"

"Something about having relations with his leader's daughter…and a few other females. Instead of killing him they banished him to the outpost," Pike explained while Kirk smirked and nodded.

"Thanks for the information, Admiral."

"Kirk." He looked up to watch Pike. "Whatever you're up to just be careful. Romulans do not like outsiders poking into their business. They get a little hostile about it."

"I will sir. No unnecessary risks," Kirk said and terminated the link.

Kirk stared at the data pad with the information. What Kirk hadn't clarified with Pike was everything coming up would be a necessary risk. This whole excursion was a risk. But one he was willing to attempt. Ever since hearing Captain Hemen's account he knew they had to do anything to stop it from coming to fruition. The problem was doing it without causing problems for anyone else. Or letting it leak to the Romulans.

Pushing away from the conference table, Kirk headed back to the bridge. Passing through the halls he thought about what he would do once reaching Anor's planet. The only thing he could think of was play it by ear. Stopping suddenly to think, he turned to the nearest computer console.

"Computer, locate crew member Scott, Montgomery."

The screen listed the deck, sector and specific location of the engineer. Kirk headed back in the direction he came from originally. The crew members he passed nodded to him respectively but continued on their way. Stepping on a turbolift, he rode it down to the engineering levels and stepped off. He traveled deeper into the bowels of the ship and emerged from the aesthetically pleasing part of the ship and entered the bare structure.

Kirk weaved by large cauldrons and under thick piping until he finally found the Scotsman's office. It didn't look much better than the office on Delta Vega when Kirk first met Scotty. Parts of machinery were scattered across any flat surfaces as well as a few half finished sandwiches. He did eventually get around to finishing the sandwiches but something usually distracted him from finishing a new sandwich in a single sitting. Posted on any available clear vertical surfaces were images and schematics of the Enterprise from multiple angles. Other engineers posted up images of half nude women, or alien species depending on what they were interested in, but Scotty posted images of the Enterprise.

His office didn't consist of four walls; it was mainly an unused corner with just conduits and hydro valves. Strung between two conduits was an oversized hammock and beneath that was a smaller version. The desk was piled high with random equipment and data pads. Kirk could hear muttering coming from behind a thick transformer on the desk.

"Scotty?"

The engineer's head popped out from behind the transformer and he smiled upon recognizing the Captain.

"Mornin Captain! What can I do fer ya?" the Scotsman replied as he went back to the transformer.

"What are you working on?"

"Kreecher heard this blasted thin' strainin so I decided to have a look see. Wee bit o' a problem though. This is the newest one and I canna get tha newest schematics. An' as I've often found out: tha way tha manufacturer says it's supposed ta go isn't tha way I think it's suppose ta go. So I'ma havin ta rewire it basically," Scotty explained as he leaned back in his chair and wiped his sleeve across his forehead.

"Sounds like loads of fun. Listen, do you know how to get your hands on a case of Tipperlen vodka?"

Scotty raised an eyebrow before answering. "That's some hard stuff, Captain. Anythin' you wanna talk 'bout?"

"Not for me actually. It's a small bribe for some important information. Can you get me some?"

Scotty rubbed his jaw while he thought for a moment. Kirk occupied himself with looking over the ship's structural schematics. He knew the engineer spent most of his time down here. His official quarters were rarely slept in for the reason of 'he couldn't hear tha girl purring.' Kirk hoped 'tha girl' was actually the ship; if not he didn't want to know the details. Kreecher had his own quarters but preferred to stay in engineering also with Scotty. Hence the smaller hammock under the big one.

"Kreecher might be able ta get some. He can be a persuasive bugger whena he wants ta be."  
"Will you let me know once he finds out? And keep this quiet; I don't want it getting around that I'm having you find a case of illegal booze for me," Kirk said with a grin and Scotty nodded.

"Aye, sir." Scotty replied and gave a weak salute even though his head was buried in the transformer.

Kirk left Scotty to the transformer and slowly walked back towards the turbo lift. He rode it up several decks and eventually made his way to sickbay and McCoy. When he walked through the double doors he came across McCoy berating an ensign for a 'cotton pickin stupid of an idea.' McCoy's southern accent always came through thickly when he was angry or agitated. It amused Kirk greatly.

Waiting for McCoy to finish, Kirk went to McCoy's office and activated the computer display. Shifting the patient displays to the side, he searched for the planet's coordinates. Once finding it he read over the planet's classification and terrain details. Constantly rainy, Romulans used the planet as a stop to refill on water, thunder storms over most of the planet. So pretty much a miserable place to strand anyone on.

"Any plans yet, oh fearless leader?" McCoy asked as he walked into the office.

"A few. I'm having Scotty and Kreecher find a case of Tipperlen vodka for me as a bribe for some information."

"And who are we bribing with a case of illegal Tipperlen vodka?" he replied as he sat in his chair and leaned back.

"A banished Romulan that has an ear to the Romulan grapevine. Hopefully he has heard something about this Creeol character," Kirk answered while he continued to work at the console.

The two men were silent for a moment before McCoy spoke again. "Are we going about this the right way? It's not our job to guard the Federation."

"Bones, you know as well as I do if we prevent it one day then they'll just reschedule. We have to take off the head and stun the body."

"Jim, we're about to challenge the entire Romulan race by ourselves. One ship against all of Romulus? That's plain ole suicide," McCoy exclaimed as he sat forward in agitation.

"If everything works out correctly then all of Romulus will not be involved," Kirk replied as he glanced over his shoulder to look at McCoy.

"When does anything work out correctly for us?"

Kirk chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "It resolves itself at the end."

McCoy was quiet again as Kirk finished working on the console.

"What about Captain Hemen?" McCoy asked as Kirk turned to look at him.

"What about her?"

"Stop being a dumb blonde. It's not befitting of you," McCoy snapped in annoyance.

"It's a great cover; no one expects too much from me if they all think of me as a dumb blonde. That way I can surprise them so much easier," he replied and rubbed his eyes.

"What I mean is after all this finishes. Yes, we save the Federation and Starfleet and yes, we stop this Romulan attack. And after that we build a lasting relationship with the Romulan Empire and we'll all be crushed under the weight of the medals they'll try to pin on us." McCoy paused from his rant to take a deep breath. "How do we get Hemen back to her timeline? Can we even do that? What if she's stuck here?"

"What do you want me to try and do Bones? I'm dealing with the problems right in front of me consisting of the attack. Once everything cools down then we'll deal with it."

"Well, we still have a while until the attack. You could approach her now about it. She may already have an idea of how to get back. And hey, you may even find out a few interesting things about your future. Don't even try to tell me that you're not curious."

"Of course I'm curious. Who wouldn't be?" Kirk answered as he sat heavily on the couch.

"So, talk to her. Find out how much of a dork you are in the future."

McCoy ducked and barely caught the data pad that had been flung at his head.


	5. Chapter 5

Kirk sat in his captain's chair and finished going over the reports for the day. A message from Starfleet had reported an increase in chatter from non-friendly entities. He had barely suppressed the urge to giggle and passed the report to Spock. His First Officer and he traded a look and both believed it was Romulan chatter.

Spock came closer to Kirk's chair and leaned in a bit to speak. "Captain, Engineer Scott reports that he has found a location to retrieve the merchandise you requested. He sent planet coordinates."

Spock passed the coordinates to Kirk as the Captain stood.

"Sulu, please identify the planet at these coordinates," Kirk said and handed the information to the helmsman.

"Aye, sir."

Kirk crossed his arms across his chest and remained standing while Sulu brought up the information. It was a secondary moon planet to a planet named Poxnir in the Opnix Beta galaxy. A small trading planet it seemed.

"I want an estimated route and length of travel time to this planet. Bring up any reports on it you can find. Then I want the same to Planet Gamma-six-one-scion near the Romulan territory. I want everything on my desk by oh seven hundred tomorrow morning," Kirk ordered and heard a slight flurry of movement as everyone took notes.

He briefed his relief and departed the bridge. Slowly walking towards the officer's mess he waited for Spock to catch up. It had become a kind of ritual that Spock and he would have dinner after each shift. They would talk about the day and any evening plans. The first few weeks of doing this had been excruciating for both of them. But eventually Spock had become accustomed to Kirk's sense of humor and his illogical human ways. Kirk had adapted to Spock's logical thought process and learned his subtle displays of emotion.

Just as he was about to enter the officer's mess, he heard the measured footsteps of the half-Vulcan.

"Spock."

"Jim."

They entered the officer's mess for dinner and went to the buffet area. A few moments later they were seated at a table and Kirk was detailing his plan. Spock and he tossed some ideas back and forth and eventually ironed out a better overall plan.

Just as Kirk was about to leave McCoy appeared and sat next to him.

"Yes, Bones? You never just sidle up to me unless you want something," Kirk said with a smirk.

"Yeah, you need to talk to Sabrina."

Kirk raised an eyebrow at his chief medical officer. "When did you and she get on first name basis?"

"Whenever she is willing to go toe-to-toe with you makes her a friend in my book."

Kirk chuckled before replying, "Why do I need to talk to Captain Hemen?"

"She's been here two days and I don't think she's eaten or slept. I'm concerned."

"Have you been with her to know she hasn't eaten or slept?" Kirk asked with a smile at McCoy.

McCoy's reply was a sharp slap to the back of his head. Laughing, he promised McCoy he would and left the mess. Locating a computer console, he asked it to search for Captain Hemen. Reading her location, he headed off and several minutes later entered the crew gymnasium. Only one person was there and she was going around the track at a run.

"Computer, distance athlete has run?"

"Nine point eight miles."

Kirk shook his head slowly as he watched Captain Hemen. She was wearing Starfleet issue black track pants and black long sleeve shirt. The hair was still in a tight French brain and Kirk had a quick thought of if it every actually came down. Sweat was streaming down her face and neck and her shirt was soaked through.

"Don't you think nine miles is enough?" he yelled and saw her glance towards him.

"Ten is my minimum," she replied as she breezed by him.

"Bones is worried about you. Said you haven't eaten or slept since you…arrived. Asked me to check on you."

"The McCoy from my time is the same bossy and abrasive one as yours. Amazing how that doesn't change," she shouted back and rounded the corner.

Kirk nodded and watched as she went to the far end of the track. He leaned against the wall and waited for her to reach the ten mile mark. She continually pushed hard until the computer notified her of distance. She slowed to a walk and planted her hands on her hips as she lowered her head. Instead of continuing on the track, she walked in slow circles as Kirk walked over to her. Her breaths were deep but measured as she rolled her shoulders.

"You can tell Bones that I am taking care of myself. He has no need to worry," she said and lowered herself to the ground to lay back.

Draping her arm over her eyes she remained on the floor as Kirk stood beside her. After a few minutes she removed her arm and looked up at Kirk.

"Yes, Captain Kirk?"

Kirk plowed ahead. "I was hoping we could talk this evening."

Hemen stood and stared quietly at Kirk before answering.

"You know what I said about personal futures."

"I know but Bones posed an interesting theory. If we change the future then we may never even meet. So my-our future has already been changed. What would be the harm of talking about it if it isn't going to happen?"

"Sounds like you've been talking to Spock also."

"If I had there would have been bigger words. I like to keep it short and simple," he replied with a smirk.

"Touche," she said with a laugh. "Alright. I can't argue with your logic. Where and when?"

"How about the officer's lounge in an hour?"

"Sounds good."

Kirk left the gymnasium first and slowly made his way to his quarters. Stepping through the door he ordered the lights up to seventy percent. Requesting a cup of hot tea from the replicator, he gently blew on it while walking to his desk. Sitting at the PADD littered desk, he went through his private messages and replied to a few of them. There was a message from Pike warning him to be careful. A message from his mother and another from an old childhood friend. Those could wait for later. Minimizing everything, he stood and walked to the large windows to look out. Cradling the hot cup, he inhaled the steam before taking a quick sip of the hot liquid. Staring out the windows at the blackness was calming to him. It allowed his brain to slow down and wander in multiple directions. He also felt closer to his dad somehow. He couldn't explain why. The one time he tried to tell McCoy, the doctor had started to look at him oddly. So he blamed it on the alcohol they were drinking at the time and never brought it up again.

Sighing quietly, he turned away from the window and traded the mug for a PADD from his desk. Leaving his quarters, he made his way to the lounge and greeted the other officers there. Sitting at a table by the window but away from the crowd, he went through the latest reports on the ship. He paused only long enough to order a drink when the waiter approached. A request had come in for a Starfleet presence at a nearby planet. Knowing they didn't have time to play politics, he forwarded the message onto another Starfleet ship that was the closest and could handle it. Sensing someone approaching his table, he glanced up as the waiter presented his order. A few steps behind the waiter, Hemen approached the table and stood aside until the waiter departed. She was again dressed in black slacks with a black Starfleet issue top. The hair was pulled into a fresh French braid and was still damp from an apparent shower.

"Please, have a seat, Captain Hemen. What can I get you to drink?"

"A Salamatian tonic."

Kirk nodded and signaled for the waiter. The table was quiet for a few moments until her drink arrived.

"I must admit; I'm unsure of how to start a normal conversation with you. I get the feeling it would be a repeat conversation for you and a new one for me," Kirk joked and was rewarded with a faint smile from Hemen.

"I've found that no matter how many times you can have the same conversation, something new will always come up. So, please, ask away."

"What type of ship do you captain?" he asked and took a sip from his beverage.

"The USS Hawkeye. It's a smaller version of the Enterprise; more compact. She's a good ship though. Been through a lot," she answered with a smile as she stared at the table between them.

"Such as?"

Hemen smiled again but it was a sad smile. "Two Romulan falcon ships caught us unaware one evening. Main guidance was off line. Shields were down to twenty percent. My chief engineer and I were in the Jeffery tubes working on the wiring. We were both yelling at our departments while we were being bashed every direction. We managed to get main weapons back online and finished off the two falcons. I think everyone was injured after that battle. Amazing we survived at all," she said with a soft chuckle.

Kirk watched Hemen look around at the lounge and started to notice that she seemed tense. She was reluctant to look at him for any length of time. Reluctant of what she might remember or recall. Kirk had to ask; had to know.

"What's it like? The future you're from?" he asked quietly after glancing towards the other patrons of the lounge.

Hemen glanced at him before looking down at her glass. Pulling the chair closer to the table, she propped her arms on the table and leaned closer to Kirk. At that moment Kirk could see the weariness that sat heavily on Hemen's shoulders. She looked her age; she looked tired.

"It's rough. The war has been going on for about eight years. We've been living in a constant state of anxiety and battle. Always on the move," she said quietly and looked him in the eyes.

"What were you doing when you transported here?"

"I was on my way back to the Hawkeye from the hub ship. The Hawkeye was about to leave the Dulange System for a mission. We were saying our goodbyes," Hemen answered quietly before sighing.

"Our goodbyes?" Kirk asked and raised an eyebrow.

"It was common that someone you saw that morning would be dead or captured by that evening. We all got into the habit of saying goodbye whenever we left the safety of the System. It was just like after the Narada incident; you value each other more."

"I can understand that. There were so few cadets left after all that. Everyone was important," Kirk said and looked down at his hands.

It was silent for a moment while they were both lost in their own thoughts. Kirk was remember Gaila and her bright smile. He knew Uhura had a picture of Gaila in her quarters from when they roomed together. Seeing a picture of her was too hard on him.

"Do you think we'll be able to stop Creeol?" she asked as she rubbed her hands together.

Kirk shrugged and answered honestly. "I don't know but I have to hope that we can. Otherwise why are we trying and why were you sent back?"

Hemen stared at him as her lips slowly curved into a smile. She dropped her gaze and laughed softly.

"What?" Kirk asked as she shook her head.

"That's one of the things I fell in love with about you. Your endless ability to hope and find a solution."

"There are no no-win scenarios," Kirk said as Hemen sat back from the table and glanced around the lounge and other laughing patrons.

"Everyone from my time would argue that life in general has become a no-win scenario. You always argue that it isn't over yet and Starfleet can rise above this to put the Federation back on top."

She stopped talking suddenly and pressed a hand over her mouth. Kirk could see her jaw muscles clench as she breathed deeply to control her emotions. He waited quietly until she lowered her hand and lifted her head.

"You asked me to stay."

Kirk stared at her back in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"You asked me to stay longer with you. Said you had a bad feeling and wanted me to postpone the mission. I said no and promised to be careful. I should have listened to you."

"Maybe you were meant to come back and stop it from happening. Stop the war," Kirk said and she sighed in response.

"Maybe. If you'll excuse me, Captain. I'm going to retire for the evening," she said and stood from her chair and nodded to him once she straightened.

He nodded and watched as she left the lounge. Apparently she meant something to him in the future. Enough that he asked her to delay a mission. They were close. The only people he allowed himself to get close to were McCoy and Spock. He had changed also it seemed in the future.

"Sulu, please enter a course to Poxnir at Warp 4," Kirk ordered as he read over the collection of information the bridge crew had gathered.

"Aye, sir."

That morning Kirk had briefed the senior crew on their new mission and the plan. He had adjusted the information to shield where the tip had come from. He introduced Captain Hemen as an officer from Starfleet Intelligence and that she brought news of rumors about a Romulan attack on the Federation. Their assignment was to investigate.

In private, Spock was concerned about coming to near to Romulan space and actually stopping at a Romulan outpost to speak with a shunned Romulan. He wasn't too happy about obtaining a case of illegal Tipperlen vodka either but that apparently didn't rank as high as the Romulan aspect. Kirk asked for a better plan but none averaged a better success percentage than the original. Spock hadn't understood the phrase to shoot from the hip and Kirk wasn't in the mood to explain it.

The estimates put them arriving at Poxnir that evening. Scotty guessed it would take Kreecher and him about an hour or two to get the vodka and get back to the ship. Kirk hoped they could set off again late that evening.

"Captain, we are receiving an urgent communications from Admiral Pike at Starfleet. He wants to speak to you immediately," Uhura announced over her shoulder.

Kirk glanced at Spock and they both had the same thought. Pike must have heard something.

"Spock you have the con. I'll take it in my office."

Kirk stood and walked off the raised platform towards his office. Entering the room, he ordered the lights up and brought up the communications at his desk.

"Yes Admiral Pike?" he asked as he sat in the chair.

"What the hell do you know Kirk?"

Pike was not in a joking mood apparently.

"I know a lot of things, Admiral. What do you mean exactly?"

"I just received word that a Romulan ship attacked a peaceful planet just outside their territory. This coming less than twenty-four hours after you ask me if I have any contacts in Romulus. What do you know?"

"Between just us?" Kirk asked and Pike glanced off screen.

Pike's head jerked to the side and watched as the individual left the office. Kirk faintly heard a door close before Pike looked back to him. He had decided to use the half truth he had told the others earlier.

"Several days ago we received a tip that the Romulan Empire is planning a mass attack on the Federation and Starfleet. We're trying to stop it."

"How reliable is the tip?"

"I'd stake my entire crew and ship on it," Kirk immediately replied and saw Pike's features harden.

"Who is it from?"

"I can't reveal that, sir," he replied and had a feeling that Pike wouldn't have believed him anyway.

"Can't or won't?"

"A little of both actually. We need to keep this quiet Admiral Pike. We know when they plan to attack but if the Romulans figure out we know and reschedule then we won't know the new timeframe. It will be more difficult than it already is. This is a one shot opportunity," Kirk said and watched Pike pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Your contact won't be able to discover the new date if it's moved?"

"No, sir. It'll be quiet impossible."

"Alright, Captain Kirk; I don't like it but I'll keep my hands off it for now. I will not inform Starfleet or the Federation of the possibility of an attack. If there's anything I can do from my end then let me know and I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you sir," Kirk replied and Pike terminated the call.

Kirk leaned back in his chair and felt his back protest at the position. The stress from the past few days was starting to catch up with him. In the public areas of the ship he was the calm and in control Captain; never a hesitation or second doubt. But in private he was only human; he got tired and made mistakes.

Rubbing the side of his nose quickly, he reached out and tapped a few keys. A moment later the door chimed and Kirk called out for admittance. The door slid open and revealed the young, curly haired Chekov.

"Yes, Keptin?" the young man asked once the door slid shut behind him.

"Chekov, how familiar are you with Starfleet's computer systems?"

"Oh, very sir. The system is a complex-"

Kirk held up a hand to stop the young genius. They couldn't get bogged down in talking shop which they could easily do.

"Listen to me Chekov. I hate to ask you to do this but I want you to hack into Starfleet and the Federation's communication network. I want to be able to scan for specific words and pull a copy of any messages containing those words."

The young Russian's eyes widened in shock at Kirk's request. Kirk understood very well what he was asking the boy to do for him. Chekov was still at the age that he idolized Starfleet and would never think of going behind Starfleet's back. But Kirk hoped that Chekov would trust him.

"Could I ask vhy, sir?"

"In the near future there will be an attack on the upper levels of Starfleet. To do that they will need to be in one location. I need to know when exactly and where exactly. Can you do this for me?"

Chekov had sat in the chair in front of the desk and had clasped his hands in front of him. He had started to gnaw on his bottom lip as his gaze danced side to side. His fingers started to tap in midair and Kirk raised an eyebrow.

"I can create an algorithm zat vill filter a vord from communiqués. Ave eet scan all encrypted, verbal and typed-"

"Good Chekov. Use these words and keep me posted of any results," Kirk instructed and stood to hand Chekov the list.

He leaned against the desk as the Russian walked out still muttering to himself. Kirk knew that Chekov would have a program up and running by that evening. Now he had meetings with department heads.


	6. Chapter 6

I am sorry about how long it's taken me to continue with this story. I've had a lot of personal issues going on that I've been trying to deal with. Find a new job; try not to lose my mind with my current job and all the fun stuff involved with life in general. Hope this chapter is enjoyed and I will try to post the next chapter in a more reasonable timeframe.

/

"Captain, we are in orbit around Poxnir," Sulu announced and tapped the screen to monitor the ship's position.

"Contact Mr. Scott and Kreecher and tell them we have arrived. Give them anything they need to complete their mission. Uhura, I want you to monitor their frequency. Can't let them be stolen by the locals," Kirk said and Spock raised an eyebrow.

Kirk stared out the viewing screen at the planet they were currently orbiting. Now that they were at Poxnir, he was anxious. Scotty had recommended against Kirk coming along and Kirk had listened. Scotty was confident that it would go much quicker without Kirk. Something about not attracting trouble.

The turbolift doors hissed open and allowed someone entrance to the bridge. Kirk didn't have to look to know who it was. The tension on the bridge rose a few notches as Kirk swiveled the chair enough to look. Hemen stood by the lift doors and quickly scanned the bridge crew. The crew looked away whenever she locked gazes with them. She straightened her shoulders more and stared defiantly ahead at the viewing screen.

"Focus people. We have two crew members off ship; I want to be sure we get them back," Kirk snapped and turned to watch everyone.

"Captain, I'm picking up another ship's signature. It's coming from the other side of the planet," Ensign Springer announced and Kirk's head snapped around to look at the Ensign.

"Can you identify what type ship it is?"

"Negative. It looks like they are starting to round the planet. Will come into view in six seconds," Springer said as Kirk stood and walked to the front of the bridge.

"Shields up. Arm phasers. Contact Scotty and tell him to hurry up. Do not target the ship. I don't want to seem too aggressive," Kirk ordered as he glanced over his shoulder.

Kirk paused as his gaze locked with Hemen who stood at the back of the bridge. Her face was neutral and blank as she stared back before looking to the view screen. She had the look of a Starfleet Captain; cold and revealing nothing. Kirk looked at the communications station as Uhura pressed her earpiece tighter to her ear.

"Scotty is on his way back and I'm picking up chatter from the other ship. It's sounding like a Romulan dialect," she announced and everyone paused a moment.

"It sounds like a Romulan dialect or it is a Romulan dialect?" Kirk questioned as he took a few steps towards her.

"It is Romulan and they've picked up on our signature and the shuttle's. They are locking on with weapons!" Uhura called and was now using both hands to manipulate her console.

"Take us to the shuttle! Hail Scotty to put up his shields. Hail a warning to that Romulan ship. Tell them I don't want to engage them if I don't have to but will if they fire on our shuttle. Alert all departments and sound battle alarm!" Kirk ordered and the red klaxons started sounding as everyone readied themselves for battle.

"Romulan ship coming into view."

The main screen showed a blip emerge from behind the planet. The viewing screen zoomed in on the blip and enlarged the ship. The broad wings stretched away from the ship's body menacingly. Both ships were in plain view of each other now. Uhura was still speaking in Romulan and her tone was growing more urgent.

"Shuttle is aligned to dock," Spock said and Kirk nodded to show that he heard.

"They had opportunities to fire on Scotty's shuttle. Why haven't they?" Sulu asked tightly while his fingertips moved slowly over his console.

Kirk felt a muscle in his jaw tense as he stared at the screen. All of his training was screaming at him to fire but his logic was arguing to wait and see. He didn't want to start a small battle before the huge war started. Everyone on the bridge was hovering at the edge of a precipice ready to jump. Someone had to ease them back from the edge.

"They're weighing the options. Uhura, any response?" Kirk said as Spock stood at his elbow.

"No sir."

"Captain, Chief Engineer Scott has successfully docked. I would recommend we withdraw slowly. There is no logical reason for us to attack that ship," Spock said and Kirk slowly nodded.

"I agree, Mr. Spock," Kirk replied quietly. "Sulu, back us up at one quarter impulse power. No sudden moves," Kirk ordered and Sulu nodded.

"Aye sir."

The Enterprise slowly backed away from the Romulan ship. While they watched, the Romulan ship also started to back up. When there was a safe distance between them, the other ship slowly turned and left.

"Romulan ship is out of firing range," Sulu said and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Take us down from battle station standing. Set immediate course for gamma-six-one-scion at warp four," Kirk issued as the turbo lift doors opened to reveal Scotty.

Scotty looked around at the tense crew before speaking. "What did I miss?"

Kirk chuckled softly and shook his head. Looking over to where Hemen had stood, he was surprised to not see her. Glancing around, he didn't see her anywhere. He was minimally surprised that Hemen had slipped off the bridge without his noticing. Usually he was aware of anyone walking on and off his bridge. Pressing it from his mind, he focused on Scotty.

"I'll leave storing the merchandise to you. I trust you'll know a good place for it?" he asked as Scotty started nodding.

"Aye sir."

"Good. Spock, could I speak with you in my office?" Kirk said and stood from his chair.

The two of them walked to the Captain's officer where Kirk grabbed a data pad and handed it to the half Vulcan.

"I had Chekov research the Klingon base and found a rough blueprint. I've already been over them. I plan to bring together Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov to look over the blueprint and put together some different approaches. We need to keep the Klingons unaware so they can't know when we hit it. I would appreciate your input."

Spock raised an eyebrow as Kirk watched him hopefully. The Captain really didn't have to hope that Spock would participate. He knew without a doubt that his First would lend his expertise to the mission. Without a word, the First Officer glanced at the datapad before moving his hands to his lower back with the datapad.

"Permission to retire to my office to begin analysis of the base?"

"Granted. I'll arrange a conference for all the big players tonight to go over our plan. I'll send you an alert on the details."

"Of course, Captain."

Upon leaving the office, Spock went to the left and Kirk went to the right. A moment later he stepped back onto the bridge and to his chair.

"How long until we reach Planet Gamma-six-one-scion?" he asked as he activated his message center.

"Twenty-nine hours at current speed," Sulu replied as he turned his chair to look at the Captain.

"Given no delays," Kirk muttered as he built a quick message and attached the blueprints.

Sending everything off, he sat back in the chair and tapped his fingers on the arm rest. Now that they were getting closer to actually doing something, his adrenaline was starting to pulse and flow. He wanted activity. He knew well that the yearning for activity was what usually got him into trouble. In work and real life.

Activating his data pad, he started skimming over supply requisition forms from the departments. Paperwork was an evil necessity.

Captain Sabrina Hemen slowly lowered herself into the desk chair and stared at the generic décor all cabins started with on a Starship. She hated it; reminded her of where she wasn't. Leaning forward, she inputted several commands into the computer's interface with the room. The walls and furniture shimmered gently before a completely different room became visible. It was a holographic image overlaid on the room.

Leaning back in the chair, she felt the top of the chair's back dig into the back of her neck but she ignored it. This was the only time she could relax. The room's image was her last memory of their quarters together. It also helped her to clear her mind and recall important details. On the desk was several datapads with documents on screen.

She stood and slowly walked around the room; hoping something would bring it all to light. On the coffee table was a half finished mug of coffee; dark Umbria roast. Under the mug was a holo disc she had used last time she was in the room; holo disc was of new status reports of ships in maintenance dock. The bed was rumpled and in a state of disarray from the last time she slept in it; sleeping wasn't the only thing that happened. Her memory was very clear about that time in the bed with her husband. But she couldn't think about it. It would stay with her when she left the room and saw the man who hasn't her husband…but was. She still felt the same pull to him that always affected her; the same desire.

The front door chimed and her shoulders immediately tightened. Striding to the desk, she deactivated the program and took a deep breath before going to the door. A quick glance behind her confirmed that the room was back to its original state. The door slid open to reveal Jim Kirk.

"Captain Kirk, please come in," she said and stepped aside.

Kirk's gaze danced around the sparse room as he took a few steps into the room. The door hissed closed and Hemen watched the broad back.

"Is there something I can do for you, sir?" she asked as she followed him into the room.

"We're both off shift. Please, call me Jim," he replied as he turned to look at her.

Hemen saw the blue eyes and gentle smile of the man in front of her and could only think of the man that wasn't in front of her. She had to constantly remind herself that the Jim Kirk of this time was not the one she knew so well. This Jim Kirk was just another man who was not her husband.

"Well then what can I do for you Jim?" she asked and moved towards the desk.

"I'm getting a selected few together to go over a plan for when we reach the moon base. I'd like your participation and any suggestions you may have on the issue," Kirk answered as he moved around the room slowly.

"Anything you need. I've also recalled a few facts about the final attack that we can go over."

Kirk started nodding and he glanced up at her. She seemed anxious about him being in her cabin. Anxious in closed quarters with him. Anxious to be too close. It was all slowly starting to add together. As he watched, she seemed to mentally shake herself and settled herself.

"The things I've remembered have presented me with new problems."

"Such as?"

"I remember things happening a certain way but I can't see how it's being done," she replied with frustration thick in her voice.

Sighing, she glanced over at Kirk before rounding the desk. Tapping out a few commands, she picked up a small control tablet and walked past Kirk. The window blinds started closing and an interactive screen became visible.

"The attack on Starfleet and the Federation happened while they were meeting to update and review the outlook. This happens once every ten years because the upper ranks of Starfleet and Federation are almost never in the same building. The details are always kept secret. Somehow it was leaked. They met at the Orion embassy in the main conference room; that I remembered earlier this morning. I have a detailed layout of the embassy and have been inputting the details as they come back to me. I figured if I could see how it all happened then I could better prevent it. A lot of it is assumptions though," she explained and tossed the small tablet aside as she stepped forward to the screen.

Using her fingertips, she focused the screen on the main conference room. Brushing her fingers across the 4D image, it started turning slowly.

"There are three entrances to the room. A door was breeched."

"Which door?" Kirk asked, his voice now Captain instead of Jim.

"That's what I've been trying to find out. I've been running different scenarios of what routes could have been the easiest or quickest. To many variables are still unknown. Every new memory is added to my program but nothing yet that explains everything," she said and tapped the right of the screen to run one of the options.

The program ran and started with an explosion in the main conference room. Power to the building was cut a moment later. Simple human figures colored red started to appear in different areas nearing the exits. A moment later the program ended and was at the start.

Hemen cleared her throat before speaking. "It's not much, I know; but hopefully more details will come back to me before it actually happens."

"You did all this in just a few days?"

"It's been all I could think about since realizing what time I was in. Knowing that we could possibly avoid what's coming," she replied and started another scenario.

"There had to be more than one attack team. It wasn't just a simple door breech, it was all of them," Kirk said as he watched the image.

"How do you figure?"

"To ensure success they would have to cover all doors. If they didn't, the Ambassadors and Admirals could have escaped out one of the other two doors. If I was going to execute a crippling attack on the conference then I would breech all the points of entry at the same time. Throw in multiple devices to ensure everyone was killed," Kirk said as he picked up the control tablet and opened the program's coding.

Injecting his own commands and prompts into the sequence, he saved it and restarted the scenario. Four gray colored figures were cluttered around each door to the conference room and blue colored figures were now red and no longer moving. The three groupings of gray moved down the hallways to the nearest exits and disappeared. The program ended and left the two of them starting at the screen.

"So they had three separate attack teams," Hemen said as Kirk stepped closer to the image.

"Now the question is how did they get that many Romulans in one location without anyone taking notice," he replied and gently tapped the image.

Hemen stepped away from Kirk and moved away from the warm body. For a moment there, she thought she was back to her time with her Jim. It was so easy to slip.

"When is this little get together?" she asked once clearing her throat.

"A few minutes actually. We should go."

Kirk led the way out her quarters and down the hall. Crew members were moving about as Hemen hurried to keep up with Kirk. The younger Kirk had the same long legs as the older Kirk apparently. He led her to a conference room and walked in without stopping. The Enterprise's senior crew was scattered around the room and started as Kirk suddenly appeared.

"Someone put the blueprints up on the main screen, please," Kirk requested and a moment later the image was there.

"In a few hours we'll be at the moon base. I want to hear ideas and plans of what we're doing to not be detected. We cannot let it out that we are there or were there."

"Tha blueprints 'ave tha building armed with outer surveillance, motion and…"

The brainstorming lasted four hours. Kirk listened as everyone left the conference room. Spock remained seated at the table with his hands folded simply on his lap. The room was silent once the door hissed shut. Kirk had his arms crossed across his chest while he stared at the screen on the wall.

"Your posture indicates you are displeased with something. There is an eight-nine point seven two percent that it is the plan you are displeased with," Spock said to a still Kirk.

"There are still too many variables that we can't cover. I'm worried about the team. Worried about this whole damn thing," Kirk muttered before reaching a hand out to clear the screen.

He turned away from the screen and gripped the back of a chair. "What's the chance of us getting in and out without the entire Romulan empire finding out?"

Kirk waited while Spock did the mental calculations. He had learned early on to value Spock's analytical skills. Of course, there were the occasional times he felt Spock should throw out the logical thoughts and embrace his instincts. They were working on it.

"There is a sixty-nine point two three percent chance of success."

"Anything we can do to increase the number?"

Spock paused for a moment. "Any changes would only alter number by once point three in either direction."

"Is sixty-nine point two three percent good enough?"

"I am unable to answer that, Captain."

Kirk slowly nodded. He knew Spock couldn't answer his questions. No one could.

"Thank you, Spock. That'll be all," Kirk said without looking at the hybrid.

Spock nodded and stood from the chair. With a quick tug to straighten his uniform, he left the captain alone with his thoughts.


	7. Chapter 7

"Captain, we are at the moon base."

Kirk sat up from where he had been laying at Uhura's call. On his way out of his quarters, he picked up his phaser belt and strapped it on. He had traded his gold shirt for a black one; no need to announce his presence on the planet by wearing a bright gold shirt. The plan ran through his mind as he walked to the transporter room. There he found Spock and Scotty ready.

"Everyone ready?" Kirk asked as Scotty shifted his hold on the vodka.

"You will be transported just beyond the moon base's sensors. You will be required to traverse the rest of the way by foot. The ship will be just at the limit of transporting capabilities to avoid any of the planet's sensors. You will have an hour to travel to the complex and complete the transaction and return for transport. We will be unable to monitor your frequencies while you are within the complex's sensor range. Communication will be unwise, lest the Romulans intercept the transmission," Spock said as Kirk and Scotty nodded.

"One wrong signal and we'll be neck deep in Romulans; with no one close enough to help us. Gotcha," Scotty muttered as he and Kirk walked onto the transporter pad.

Kirk nodded to the young ensign behind the control booth. A few moments later, Kirk and Scotty rematerialized on the planet in the down-pouring rain. Kirk glanced around to try and orient himself even though it was dark and rainy. Scotty was carrying the vodka and Kirk had his phaser out to guard them. They set out towards the complex and alternated who carried the vodka. They moved quietly around dark gray boulders and through small ravines. No words passed between Scotty and Kirk as they trekked through the rain. They moved slowly as the ground was muddy and slick. As they neared the complex, they started to lower themselves closer to the ground. There were no flood lights or motion sensors that they could see. Kirk and Scotty scurried to the nearest door they could see and Scotty went to work. Pulling off the access panel, he loosened a few wires and hooked his portable engineer tablet to the wires. He worked quickly through the security levels and routed any sensors that he found. Tapping the screen one last time, he looked up just as the door popped open. Slowly pushing it open, Kirk looked up and down the hallway quickly before motioning Scotty in. Closing the door silently, they paused and strained to hear anything. Scotty pointed up the hallway and took the case of vodka. Kirk took point as they slipped down the hallway.

There was a hint of light towards the end where a room was off to the side. The hallway was damp, moldy and just past the point of possible health hazard. There was just enough light to see the floor and step over old cans, wires and the occasional yirdle. Faint static sounds trickled from the room as Kirk slowed and motioned for Scotty to stop. Something inside the room belched loudly as Kirk sank down to a low squat. Glancing around, he gently picked up an old can and rubbed his thumb over the lid. Cleaning it the best he could, he slowly reached out so the lid could reflect what was in the room and show him.

Kirk saw a Romulan with a blaster pointed at the reflection. The shot hit the can before he could jerk it back. Metal shards lacerated his hand as he almost bit through is bottom lip to not yelp.

"You're not Romulan so you must be here for information. But those that come here for information do not try to sneak up on me," a rough voice said as Kirk pressed the bleeding hand against his thigh.

"We're a new client. A friend told us to talk with Anor," Kirk called back as he flexed his good hand around the phaser.

It was quiet for a moment before the Romulan replied, "Did your friend tell you about my fee?"

Scotty shoved the case out to the open as Kirk slowly stood and moved towards the doorway.

"Do we have a truce?" he called, tensed and ready to move.

"We have a truce."

Kirk rounded the corner with his phaser leading the way. Just in case.

The room was a rough makeshift control center. There was a cot in one corner of the room. Multiple viewing screens circled around a large chair and around the chair were empty bottles of Tipperlan vodka and stuff resembling food. Some of the equipment ranged in age from within the last year to before Kirk was born. The chair had tears in the fabric and assorted patches covered the really bad spots.

A light was flickering off to the right and a bare bulb hung dismally above them. This planet was obviously not a high priority on the supply route. The Romulan standing between the chair and monitors held a modified blaster. His cloths were patch worked leather in different shades. Some pieces were obviously newer than other pieces. Like the entire building actually, Kirk mused to himself.

"Are you Anor?" Kirk asked and flexed his bleeding hand that was supporting his phaser hand.

"I am. And you?"

"You can call me JT. Weapons lowered?"

Anor nodded and everyone lowered their weapons. Scotty picked up the case of vodka and set in on a nearby table. Pulling off the lid, he pulled out a bottle and braced it on the corner of the box so the Romulan could see it clearly.

"My fee has been met. What would you like to know?" Anor asked as he sat in his chair and tossed his blaster onto a pile of wires.

"Anything you know about a planned attack on the Federation by Romulans; not small skirmishes but a full on organized attack."

Anor hummed a bit and rocked his chair a bit as he stared at Kirk. "I have heard a few things. Why do you wish to know this information?"

"So I can stop it. What else?" Kirk replied with a bite in his voice.

"I am Romulan. Why should I help you stop an attack by my people?"

Kirk's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Because the status quo, as it stands, puts you in a nice place. You're out here on a loose rein, no one watching over your shoulder. You intercept and sell information at a high price and there are people willing to pay for it. If this goes down then your side business is done. That means no more Tipperlan vodka and no more other…perks. And since the Tipperlan is your price, it tells me that the Romulans don't give you any. So, you give me the information I want and you get keep the vodka and your nice arrangement here. Status quo remains unchanged. Or, you keep the information and I take the vodka back with me and disrupt the status quo. Which is it going to be Anor?"

Anor weighed the options before smiling. He spun his chair to face one of the monitors. Typing out a few commands on the keyboard, he reached under the screen and withdrew a small date disc. Standing, he handed the disc to Kirk.

"I overhear a lot of transmissions that were never intended for my ears. That disc contains every conversation that mentions Federation. If you want to speak to someone one-on-one about it, then you may want to try speaking with Kilzar on Lopnir. Rumor going around is he's from the future."

Kirk accepted the disc and glanced at it before slipping it into a pocket. "Just for my own morbid curiosity, but how did you know we were here?"

"Knowing what I do out here would not sit well with my superiors. I have other alarm systems that no one knows of. Have to be prepared," Anor stated and grinned.

"Yeah, something like that," Kirk commented. "Hope I don't see you again."

"Same, JT."

Anor had a smirk as he said it and Kirk had a feeling that the Romulan knew who he was. After the whole Nero incident, it seemed everyone knew his name and or his face or both. Turning, Kirk walked out of the room and sensed Scotty fall in behind him. Leaving through the door they came in from, Scotty and he slipped into the night and darkness.

"Well, I thought tha' went pretty well," Scotty muttered before slipping in the mud.

"Yeah, except we really have no answers and more questions. Hope whatever is on this disc is worth a whole case of Tipperlan vodka," Kirk replied and wiped a hand over his face.

Twenty minutes later they rematerialized on the Enterprise. Spock was waiting by the control panel and raised an eyebrow at their state of wet and muddiness and Kirk's obvious wound. When Kirk stepped off the transporter pad, he squelched. The ensign behind the control panel snickered and then smothered her smile. Kirk paused in front of Spock and handed him the disc.

"Have Uhura translate everything on this disc. I want to know everything. Set a course for Lopnir at Warp 2."

"Aye, Captain."

Kirk made his way to the medical bay and stepped through the hissing doors to search out McCoy. He found the doctor at his desk with a cup of coffee and a small stack of data tablets. He was just finishing up working on one tablet and set it aside. He took a large sip of coffee, rolled his shoulders and picked up the next one in the stack.

"Where can someone get some medical help around here?" Kirk asked and watched McCoy jerk in surprise as he looked for the sudden noise.

"We don't help riff raff of your kind," McCoy replied and drank more of his coffee.

"Even those in actual need?"

Kirk held up his bleeding hand which caused McCoy to surge to his feet. McCoy ordered him to sit on a bed while he brought over a medical tray with some instruments. Kirk propped his elbow on his knee and held up the wounded hand. McCoy started to clean out the wound the best he could before picking up a pair of forceps.

"Are you going to tell me what you did to your hand or just let me imagine all the possible things?" McCoy asked as he picked out the debris and dropped the small pieces onto the tray.

"I was doing just what I always do, my job. Getting information about our next step."

"Was the information worth it?" McCoy asked and flushed out the wound.

Kirk flinched at the sudden pain but gritted his teeth and continued speaking.

"Ask me in a week and I'll tell you then," he replied with a grimace and McCoy grunted.

McCoy finished quickly and sent Kirk off to 'annoy someone else'. Still wet from his trip down to the planet, he left the medical bay and headed towards his cabin.


	8. Chapter 8

Once the doors hissed shut on his cabin, he immediately pulled off his shirt and undershirt to throw the wet items into the laundry bin. Eventually he made it to the bathroom and more importantly, the shower. Activating the hot water shower feature, instead of the sonic shower, he stepped under the falling water. The whole shower ceiling was the shower head so it felt more like just warm rain. He braced one hand against the wall and let the other arm hang limply. Behind him a quiet voice read off ship wide status reports and notes that were constantly passing by his electronic desk. The messages would continue until he stopped the flow if something caught his attention. A captain was never really alone.

His limp hand lifted and wrapped around the back of his neck before running over his head, from back to front. Water sluiced down his body and over multiple scars. Unbidden, his mind wandered to his future self and Captain Hemen. What sort of relationship did they have? Did they have kids? A shudder raced through him at that idea. His history did not imply that he could deal with kinds.

"Computer, recite facts about Lopnir," he ordered as he straightened to wash.

"Class M planet, stable environment. No major cities present. Planet inhabitants live in small clusters. Largest cluster numbers two hundred twelve. No stable government. Inhabitants are friendly. Starfleet notes that planet is safe for repair docking."

"I hope this Kilzar has some answers cause we're running out of time."

"Do they know we're coming down? Hate to scare the locals," Kirk asked as they boarded a shuttle.

"Affirmative, Captain. I spoke with the council leaders and they welcome us. They informed us that Kilzar was visiting a nearby village but would be back by this evening. They also invited us to spend our rest cycle with them," Spock said and glanced at Captain Hemen as she followed McCoy onto the shuttle.

"Sounds good to me. Bring enough medical supplies, Bones?"

McCoy balefully looked at Kirk. "These people have only minimal medical knowledge and basic supplies. Who knows what kind of ailments could be lurking about down there."

"Just don't bring anything home with you," Kirk replied with a grin.

A few moments later they were on their way down to the planet with four other shuttles. They would be landing during the morning hours which would give them ample time to explore. Spock wanted to investigate the local flora. McCoy would provide any advance medical aid that he could. The others were there with aid supplies. The two suns were bright when the crew stepped off the shuttle. A council member was waiting for them and curious onlookers were nearby.

"Many greetings, Captain. I am Mulsar, one of the village elders. Welcome to our home," he spoke, and motioned towards the spread out village.

"Thank you, Mulsar. I am Captain James Kirk. This is Commander Spock and Doctor McCoy," Kirk said and continued to identify others from the shuttle.

Mulsar led them down the hill and pointed out vital buildings. The group started to shrink as crew members stopped at areas to help. Kirk was impressed by how civilized this gathering of people were. Usually settlements like this were unstructured and unorganized. But Kirk could see a small class going on for the young ones and a market where people were bartering goods and services.

Kirk and Spock were left at the guest rooms and it wasn't long before Spock quickly departed when he spotted an odd looking plant. Kirk felt the warmth on his back from the suns as he turned to look around him. What to do for the next eight hours?

Around the fire sat Kirk, Spock, Hemen and Kilzar. The old Romulan wore a simple cloth wrapping and multiple arm bands. His body bore scars from old injuries. He was more peaceful looking than most Romulans they dealt with. A patch covered one eye but the remaining one looked sharp as it took in the three Starfleet officers.

"I know why you have come. You came to talk about Creeol. What do you wish to know?"

"We have intelligence that Creeol is planning an attack on the Federation. And you may know something about it," Hemen said and Kilzar sighed heavily.

"Let me first say that I do not agree with what Creeol is doing. He is disillusioned and beyond reasonable thought. All he can think about is absolute revenge and nothing else," Kilzar said and sipped from the mug he cradled in his lap.

He paused for a moment while he organized his thoughts. "On the day of the attack, Creeol will slip a small group of individuals into the embassy. The old plan that I knew of, before I left their company, was a school group. I don't know what it may be changed to now. The group will be small enough to not arouse suspicion and originating from somewhere as innocuous. The plan will extort any weakness. It will prey on your blind areas.

"There will be a signal hidden deep within transmissions that will sync the attack on the ships around the universe. I don't know the wave lengths but it should be easy to find if someone is looking hard for them. There is some reason behind the saying don't make anything too difficult. If you want to hide something well, you hide it in plain sight."

The group passed the rest of the evening hours asking questions and thinking out ideas. They weren't going to let anything fall through the cracks during this mission.

Scattered fires illuminated the village and the inhabitants as the family hours began. Kilzar explained that the last two hours before resting were deemed the family hours and that was when neighbors came out and congregated. Children played games, adults laughed and told jokes. The village as a whole met and interacted as a family; helping each other, exchanging advice and words of wisdom. Kirk and Kilzar were the only ones still seated around the fire. Spock has been dragged off by a group of children asking him science questions they had learned earlier that day in class. The Vulcan was only too happy to help the children learn more. Hemen was playing a game of soccer with a large group of children and a few other Starfleet officers that had come down with the group.

Kirk took another sip from the mug clasped in his hands. A young woman had handed him the mug an hour ago and he was still working on it. The liquid was fruity but potent; he knew he had a slight buzz going on. This was why he was taking his time with it. His elbows were propped on his knees and he was slowly looking around at the multiple fires. His gaze continued to travel back to the soccer game and more importantly, back to Hemen. She was laughing freely as she ran after the child in possession of the soccer ball. In the few days she had spent on the Enterprise, he hadn't seen her that free and relaxed; especially not in his presence.

Kilzar looked between the Captain and the woman playing soccer. He may have been old but the intense connection between those two was obvious. The only ones that couldn't see it were those two. He shook his head and laughed silently. And the young said the old were slow.

"Take my advice, a beautiful woman will not wait forever for a man to make his move," he said and saw Kirk twitch in surprise at the sudden voice.

Kirk looked at Kilzar and looked to where the Romulan motioned. He looked back to the soccer game and at Hemen.

"There are some things about her that you don't know. Reasons why we can't be together," Kirk replied and took another sip of from his mug.

"What is there to know or not know? You find her attractive; she finds you attractive. Reasons don't matter where love is concerned. Go to her, sweep her off her feet, and give her reasons to never forget you."

"Oh, I don't think she'll have a problem with remembering me. I already have a spot in her future apparently," Kirk replied sarcastically.

"Maybe, but do you have a spot in her present?"

Kirk paused at that and stared at Hemen as she nudged and soccer ball along and dodged around a crew member. She kicked the ball between the two rocks which took the place as the goal posts. The kids and adults on her team cheered and circled around her as she picked one smaller child up under her arm and jogged around laughing. A few strands of hair had escaped the confines of her French braid and fell to her shoulders. Some of the strands were stuck on her lips and across her nose from the moisture.

A gong went off nearby and the kids groaned. It was time to go to bed. Hemen ruffled the hair on the kids as they passed her and she waved bye as everyone started to disperse.

"Thank you for your company, Kilzar. I hope to see you in the morning," Kirk said and took the final sip from his mug and set it on the ground by the long he was sitting on.

"And thank you also, Captain Kirk. I wish we had met under different circumstances. I feel we would have been great friends. And go get that woman. Before I do," Kilzar laughed as he stood and stumbled off away from the guests' huts.

Kirk watched as the old Romulan ambled off and he turned to watch the Starfleet crew members walk towards the guest huts. Hemen was speaking with one of her team mates from the soccer match and laughing about someone's antics. Kirk followed slowly and nodded to the occasional greeting that was directed at him. He noticed where Hemen's hut was but decidedly tried to avoid it. He would not let his hormones make his decisions for him. He was a Starfleet Officer, Captain of the Starship Enterprise; not some hormonal teenager.

That logic only lasted him for about thirty minutes while he paced in his hut. The hut was simple decorated; a small table for taking meals, a chair, dresser and a bed. There was a smaller room attached which served as the private room for the shower and latrine. He wore a pair of black pajama bottoms and loose black tee shirt. Normal sleeping wear for when he was off ship. Muttering to himself that he was just going to check in on her, he slipped on his shoes and opened the door to his hut. Walking across the small clearing and pass the burning fire, he approached Hemen's door and knocked just as he reached it.

A few moments later the door opened to reveal the woman he had come to see. She still wore the cloths she had played soccer in and the loose strands from her French braid still fell to her shoulders. The words he had planned on saying were suddenly stuck in his dry throat and he couldn't focus on anything else except those loose strands.

"Yes, Captain?"

"Damn the future," he muttered suddenly and took a bold step forward.

His left hand curled around her neck and pulled her close for a deep kiss as his right hand groped for the door to shut it. She gasped and went to move away but his right hand was now free to wrap around her slim waist and hold her tight against him. Despite trying to get away from him, a throaty groan escaped her and her body arched against him as her hands gripped the back of his biceps. While hungrily kissing her, his left hand worked its way up and gently started to loosen the French braid. Dropping the band somewhere, he buried his hand deep into her hair and gently started to loosen the strands. Abandoning her mouth, he started kissing her neck as her hair started to fall around his head in a waterfall of silk strands. She was softly gasping as he continued to attack her neck. Her hands started to stroke his lower back and hold him closer. One of her hands moved up to his upper back and pulled the neck of his shirt off to the side so she could bite down on flesh. A wave of arousal surged through him so powerful he almost cried out in the shock. It took his sexually charged brain to realize what was going on. This was his first time with her. She had been with him, a future him, multiple times; she knew exactly what he liked and how. She knew how rough and in what position he liked the most.

Kirk slowly moved them towards the large bed at his left as her hands worked under his shirt. He stepped back just long enough for her to push the shirt off in one movement before grabbing his hips and pulling him flush against her body again. His hands gently traced up her spine and felt the damp skin from her outdoor activities. He could taste the saltiness on her skin and it made him want to taste her everywhere. His lips moved up her neck and nibbled under her ear.

"Is it like this in the future between us? This good?" he murmured and her hands stilled.

"Good doesn't even begin to cover it between us. Why did you come over here? I thought we planned on just staying professional until we captured Creeol and stopped the attack?" she asked as his hands worked up her body under her shirt.

"Kilzar made a very good point. My future self has his spot with you in your future. I want a spot in your present. I find myself drawn to you. Something about you calls to me. And I'm heeding the call."

Kirk pushed her shirt off over her head and bowed his head to start kissing along her collarbone and across her chest. Hemen buried one hand into his hair while her other gripped his shoulder. She was tired of fighting it; tired of thinking of excuses why this shouldn't happen. If they averted her future then she would never have met Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. Why shouldn't she have some fun? A consolation prize for losing her husband.

"Well, my call wants you on that bed under me."


End file.
